With UK's Jon Sumrall taking the head coaching position at Troy there are a few things I'd like to go over: His impact and legacy at Kentucky, the short term recruiting impact, and longer-term as well.
** Sumrall's recruiting legacy was to improve Kentucky's brand in the South. He recruited South Georgia (a vaguely defined and large land area outside of Atlanta), a place where UK has pulled some great players over the years. One of the things Kentucky's staff has gradually done better under Mark Stoops is to target inefficiencies. Smart recruiting. If everybody is recruiting Florida, go to Georgia instead. If everybody is recruiting Atlanta, go to South Georgia instead. Getting in on Tennessee when the Vols are a little down. Getting in on Michigan while UM and MSU brands were not the best.
Knowing what I do of Sumrall and the type of coach he is it's not surprising he would like those guys from South Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. He's a down home guy. Get out of Atlanta and there aren't as many distractions. Guys are building their lives around football in a lot of cases. He's a smart football mind but really a throwback coach and both an intense streak and a down home personality comes home in how he recruited. He did a good job of knowing when to be fun and when to buckle down and get serious. I think he had a great working relationship with Brad White so a big part of the replacement hire is going to be not only recruiting but finding someone who will fit/mesh well with White because they're going to be game-planning together.
He wore different hats but with an authentic personality. Someone who guys would like to go have a beer with, probably, and someone recruits can cut up with. But also someone who's going to tear into them when they're sloppy, and then sit down and build them back up.
An underrated storyline here is that Sumrall, White, and Clink were really three of the big "game planners" for that defense. In the span of six months two of those guys are gone. It's not a brain drain but I'm saying there are a couple of things to balance here. They need a really great hire and for both recruiting and scheming.
He leaves behind an inside linebackers room that is deep and talented. You could have a couple of very old senior starters next year but some super talented younger players who will be pushing them all season.
I believe Sumrall had an opportunity to sign a contract extension over the last year and that didn't happen. He has been on the cusp of a HC job for a while. Mark Stoops knew he was going to lose him soon and seemed to try to do what he could to keep him but HC at Troy is a great job for Sumrall and don't think there is much that UK could have done. It was going to be about Troy's presentation.
** Touched base with 2022 Georgia DT Quentel Jones and apparently this is something that they addressed thoroughly in advance. Jones tells me that Sumrall will still be in Lexington this weekend to help him through his official visit. That's pretty impressive for a guy who is a position coach at Kentucky and taking over at Troy as head coach. The portal and your ability to turn a program in one year are game-changers but if he's sticking around to help them recruit and finish up before the early signing period that sounds just like something he would do. Not burning any bridges. He'll leave on the best terms and I suspect that in some capacity he could be a candidate to return someday.
Speaking of Jones, he has already taken official visits to Miami (6/4), Tennessee (6/25), and Mississippi State (9/10). He would have one more official visit at his disposal for the weekend of 12/10 should he choose to take it. Auburn could be a contender for that but Jones says that weekend remains open for him. In the last month Kentucky, Miami, and Auburn have been the three main schools in play here. I like his get off on tape.
Miami is still in frequent contact with Jones. It has been said that he was close to playing for Mississippi State but the Bulldogs might not consider him that same option anymore.
** 2023 defensive lineman Adrian Griffin immediately came to mind with Sumrall taking the Troy job. Griffin really seems to love UK and is a strong contender to be a part of the Cats' 2023 class. Eric Wolford has been getting involved here and just as he picked right up where Clink left off with Deone Walker, I suspect that to happen here. Griffin confirmed that he has a great relationship with Wolford so that would make a lot of sense.
Griffin's immediate response was, "I’m really shocked I don’t know how to feel about the situation. I’m really lost for words. Wasn’t expecting that." That was apparently a very strong relationship and I sensed that. For him to verbalize it means he's going to be processing this for a while. I think Griffin would have been on board by now except he has been getting family on board. I never heard that there was any anti-UK sentiment. He's young and UK is a little farther away from home than a few SEC schools. Will be interesting to track. Griffin could play offensive or defensive line and that has not been decided yet.
** Jordan Anthony was a Sumrall guy and he takes his official visit this weekend. Don't see there being any impact there. He seems thrilled about Kentucky. If Ole Miss were to put on the full court press that would be interesting but think UK will hold onto him.
Anthony told me today, "Im going to miss him. He was a big factor in my recruiting decision and I only know coach Woodard, Coach Coen, and the head coach Stoops. I really only know the offensive coordinators."
** The big guy to watch right now re: Sumrall is Auburn 4-star WR/DB commit Kobi Albert. I know Kentucky has been recruiting him right up until the end. I know the plan was to get him in for an extended unofficial over the summer, which they did, with the plan of also getting an official at the end of the process. Sumrall's recruiting style was a long slow boil. Very calculated approach. Specific, targeted, finding out who loves the game most, and then long-term planning. (For the sake of comparison, Vince Marrow is more, when he locks in on somebody he will do it big and fast and come on strong to close hard. There is a difference imho.)
Liam Coen really loves Kobi Albert as a receiver. I remember how excited he was walking around with Albert at camp over the summer. Thought there was going to be a fight (tongue in cheek) over whether UK got him for the WR room or the DB room. Could see it going either way. You could even make the case that DB is a bigger need than WR for Kentucky but I don't know what they would prefer.
** Believe UK and Longmire are going to part ways today. Tough situation. Barring a change. I think he will have a good college career somewhere. Have heard talk about UC, Louisville, or TBD.
** My honest opinion is that the WR class would look somewhat different if Kentucky could go out and sell what Levis and Wan'Dale did this year right from the start of the process. But do think they're going to have at least a couple of really nice producers come out of this group.
** Sumrall's recruiting legacy was to improve Kentucky's brand in the South. He recruited South Georgia (a vaguely defined and large land area outside of Atlanta), a place where UK has pulled some great players over the years. One of the things Kentucky's staff has gradually done better under Mark Stoops is to target inefficiencies. Smart recruiting. If everybody is recruiting Florida, go to Georgia instead. If everybody is recruiting Atlanta, go to South Georgia instead. Getting in on Tennessee when the Vols are a little down. Getting in on Michigan while UM and MSU brands were not the best.
Knowing what I do of Sumrall and the type of coach he is it's not surprising he would like those guys from South Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. He's a down home guy. Get out of Atlanta and there aren't as many distractions. Guys are building their lives around football in a lot of cases. He's a smart football mind but really a throwback coach and both an intense streak and a down home personality comes home in how he recruited. He did a good job of knowing when to be fun and when to buckle down and get serious. I think he had a great working relationship with Brad White so a big part of the replacement hire is going to be not only recruiting but finding someone who will fit/mesh well with White because they're going to be game-planning together.
He wore different hats but with an authentic personality. Someone who guys would like to go have a beer with, probably, and someone recruits can cut up with. But also someone who's going to tear into them when they're sloppy, and then sit down and build them back up.
An underrated storyline here is that Sumrall, White, and Clink were really three of the big "game planners" for that defense. In the span of six months two of those guys are gone. It's not a brain drain but I'm saying there are a couple of things to balance here. They need a really great hire and for both recruiting and scheming.
He leaves behind an inside linebackers room that is deep and talented. You could have a couple of very old senior starters next year but some super talented younger players who will be pushing them all season.
I believe Sumrall had an opportunity to sign a contract extension over the last year and that didn't happen. He has been on the cusp of a HC job for a while. Mark Stoops knew he was going to lose him soon and seemed to try to do what he could to keep him but HC at Troy is a great job for Sumrall and don't think there is much that UK could have done. It was going to be about Troy's presentation.
** Touched base with 2022 Georgia DT Quentel Jones and apparently this is something that they addressed thoroughly in advance. Jones tells me that Sumrall will still be in Lexington this weekend to help him through his official visit. That's pretty impressive for a guy who is a position coach at Kentucky and taking over at Troy as head coach. The portal and your ability to turn a program in one year are game-changers but if he's sticking around to help them recruit and finish up before the early signing period that sounds just like something he would do. Not burning any bridges. He'll leave on the best terms and I suspect that in some capacity he could be a candidate to return someday.
Speaking of Jones, he has already taken official visits to Miami (6/4), Tennessee (6/25), and Mississippi State (9/10). He would have one more official visit at his disposal for the weekend of 12/10 should he choose to take it. Auburn could be a contender for that but Jones says that weekend remains open for him. In the last month Kentucky, Miami, and Auburn have been the three main schools in play here. I like his get off on tape.
Miami is still in frequent contact with Jones. It has been said that he was close to playing for Mississippi State but the Bulldogs might not consider him that same option anymore.
** 2023 defensive lineman Adrian Griffin immediately came to mind with Sumrall taking the Troy job. Griffin really seems to love UK and is a strong contender to be a part of the Cats' 2023 class. Eric Wolford has been getting involved here and just as he picked right up where Clink left off with Deone Walker, I suspect that to happen here. Griffin confirmed that he has a great relationship with Wolford so that would make a lot of sense.
Griffin's immediate response was, "I’m really shocked I don’t know how to feel about the situation. I’m really lost for words. Wasn’t expecting that." That was apparently a very strong relationship and I sensed that. For him to verbalize it means he's going to be processing this for a while. I think Griffin would have been on board by now except he has been getting family on board. I never heard that there was any anti-UK sentiment. He's young and UK is a little farther away from home than a few SEC schools. Will be interesting to track. Griffin could play offensive or defensive line and that has not been decided yet.
** Jordan Anthony was a Sumrall guy and he takes his official visit this weekend. Don't see there being any impact there. He seems thrilled about Kentucky. If Ole Miss were to put on the full court press that would be interesting but think UK will hold onto him.
Anthony told me today, "Im going to miss him. He was a big factor in my recruiting decision and I only know coach Woodard, Coach Coen, and the head coach Stoops. I really only know the offensive coordinators."
** The big guy to watch right now re: Sumrall is Auburn 4-star WR/DB commit Kobi Albert. I know Kentucky has been recruiting him right up until the end. I know the plan was to get him in for an extended unofficial over the summer, which they did, with the plan of also getting an official at the end of the process. Sumrall's recruiting style was a long slow boil. Very calculated approach. Specific, targeted, finding out who loves the game most, and then long-term planning. (For the sake of comparison, Vince Marrow is more, when he locks in on somebody he will do it big and fast and come on strong to close hard. There is a difference imho.)
Liam Coen really loves Kobi Albert as a receiver. I remember how excited he was walking around with Albert at camp over the summer. Thought there was going to be a fight (tongue in cheek) over whether UK got him for the WR room or the DB room. Could see it going either way. You could even make the case that DB is a bigger need than WR for Kentucky but I don't know what they would prefer.
** Believe UK and Longmire are going to part ways today. Tough situation. Barring a change. I think he will have a good college career somewhere. Have heard talk about UC, Louisville, or TBD.
** My honest opinion is that the WR class would look somewhat different if Kentucky could go out and sell what Levis and Wan'Dale did this year right from the start of the process. But do think they're going to have at least a couple of really nice producers come out of this group.
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